Black Economic Empowerment Blog

May 15, 2020

SANDF, SAPS and JMPD officers who were present when Collins Khosa was allegedly tortured and killed in Alexandra in April 2020 must be suspended and authorities must complete their investigations into his alleged killing by 4 June 2020, the North Gauteng High Court ruled on Friday.

The ruling, handed down by Judge Hans Fabricius, was critical not only of the incident that allegedly resulted in Khosa’s death but the authorities’ enforcement of lockdown regulations and the failure to ensure SAPS and SANDF members respected the rights of citizens.

May 13, 2020

Once upon a time we had bolshie bob who was the most destructive minister in zuma's cabinet. He was a rotten commie who was determined to make us as strong as Mother Russia - even though we've never really been like that. I can't write enough about that useless idiot. Or maybe I can - we have a new moron on the block, Ebie "Slaptjips" Patel. He's living up to his predecessor's name. He is cut from the same cloth - but only the cloth of clothing that he has deemed acceptable.

It's not like me to post DA ramblings on this blog - they are in my opinion the best of a really bad bunch. They will benefit from this lockdown lunacy whilst the others will suffer. Who the hell is going to vote for the anc when they were the ones who told you you couldn't work, couldn't buy cigarettes and stole your food parcels which were designed to feed you. The DA will simply get more votes than the others because more people won't vote at all. According to the DA, Slaptjips (uppercase for now because he's so useless I have to give him something) is now the minister of fashion

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is stunned by the bizarre and extraordinary clothing list that has been gazetted by Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Ebrahim Patel which seems to have been plucked from Alice in Wonderland.

These new clothing regulations are frankly mad and seem more at place during the 1980’s under the Soviet Union than they do in a democracy like South Africa.

There is simply no justification for the Minister to be determining what clothes people can buy and worse, how they should wear them.

According to the regulations:

You can buy shirts so long as they are promoted “to be worn under jacket coats and/or knitwear” which is ridiculous and insulting to South Africans’ intelligence;

You may only buy crop bottom pants so long as they worn with boots and leggings which is just ridiculous;

And finally, you can only buy “closed toe” shoes which is just laughable.

I'm almost longing for malossie to come back. He had some fashion sense

More seriously - you have to read Bruce Whitfield's article about Slaptjips and has banning of e-commerce because it's unfair on bricks and mortar retailers

Trade & industry minister Ebrahim Patel has sparked understandable fury since famously disallowing “unfettered e-commerce”, arguing that it risked the spread of Covid-19 and would be unfair to those in physical retail that aren’t allowed to trade.

Patel doesn’t want the hassle of dealing with the many complaints he would receive from spaza owners and physical store owners who would demand the same rights. So instead, he imposed a wholesale ban.

And that is unfair. It’s unfair on you and me, now forced to go to increasingly busy shops to buy things that could easily be delivered safely to our homes. It’s unfair to the delivery drivers who could be gainfully employed. It’s unfair to the dispatchers, order takers, manufacturers and suppliers of raw materials who might get some income.

Bruce is wrong on one count, ou Slappie isn't the minister of trade and industry - he's the minister of trade and industry and competition. Like bolshie before him he knows nothing about this and knows less about competition.

Slaptjips is something else and will probably our something else for a long time to come - because Cyril ain't got none

May 07, 2020

There are half a million signatures in the anti-tobacco ban petition. That's 500,000 (yes five hundred thousand South Africans) who oppose this ban. BAT had a problem too with the ban and threatened to go to court, but now they have dropped their case (for now they say). Kieswetter has told parliament how much shit we are in and business is now starting to tell Cyril to look at the stark realities.

Ramaphosa said while the government had announced a lift on the cigarette ban, it had consulted the public and decided to change its mind. "We are a listening government. As much as we may have decided on an issue, when our people raise concerns, we listen and re-examine our position and that is precisely what happened. It was done on a very controversial issue and we accept that. "There is nothing wrong whatsoever with any one of us changing our minds."

Why would BAT suspend their legal activity? It certainly isn't for the reasons offered in this statement

Batsa said on Wednesday that it was no longer taking its fight to court after receiving a response from the government to its formal letter seeking answers on April 30.

The Daily Maverick article really gets to the nub of the tobacco ban. The illicit economy is thriving. To the extent that it may be difficult for the formal tobacco economy to get back on its feet. This has massive repercussions for the industry and the government. Don't think merely about the tax revenue implications – we know that Shorty Fedora and PalofMazotti don't' give a shit about that, think about the potential legal battles that the government will face if it's found (and it will) that their lockdowns were illegal, irrational and have caused immense patrimonial loss to the liquor and tobacco industries. And that is what the government doesn't need. Ralph Mathekga explains this succinctly

President Ramaphosa's administration is not in a position to face off with angry groups in court. Government started well and enjoyed credibility in the first couple of weeks of the lockdown. However, government has committed some mistakes that have undermined its credibility in managing the lockdown. Among mistakes that have been committed are the use of excessive force in some instances, violation and disregard of lockdown rules by some members of Cabinet who have become undesirable characters. Government criteria regarding what amounts to essential goods that can be attained in the lockdown is also questionable.

There are some decisions that have been adopted and do not make sense as to which purpose they serve.

All this has pushed government to the corner, and the best option for government is to stop fighting hard and consider engaging with stakeholders and groups.

There are different groups that seek to challenge different aspects of the lockdown regulations ranging from religious leaders; the tobacco lobby; alcohol lobby; the grilled chicken lobby; etc.

Further, a group of lawyers have asked president Ramaphosa to explain the constitutional basis of the coronavirus command council, particularly where the council fits in in the broader chain of accountability in a constitutional democracy.

The last thing government wants to do is to unite the tobacco and alcohol lobby with the human rights groups against the lockdown regime

On that latter point, the Collins Khosa case is going to destroy all credibility that the police and military wished they had (and mistakenly thought they had). And I do agree with Pierre de Vos about the revulsion we should be feeling when it comes to Collins Khosa and the cops and military.

No – a deal has been struck. Ramaphosa's government can no longer treat us as children. The Khosa case (which will not doubt, very unwisely) be appealed. But the credibility is gone. BAT would not just forego their income because they now understand why the tobacco ban has been extended. They are not being paid out by Treasury not to trade because there's no money for that. I expect that Cyril will open tobacco and alcohol in the near future. He will also need to make sure that Shorty Fedora and that minister of defence – whose name is so irrelevant to me are brought into line. This deal is dependent on government delivering their side of the bargain - hence the suspension of the BAT court case. Government must know that they are simply fucked if it gets to court - as Mathekga says, it will open up the flood gates and then we're all fucked.

Government has to trust the people. It will go a long way to trying to rebuild the economy so that everyone benefits. Cyril is the only one that can do this. Knife-edge Cyril - and you are on it, history has already judged your rogue ministers, it still rather likes you.

May 03, 2020

Long have I lamented about how corporate South Africa kowtowing to the ridiculousness that is the anc. It took zoomer's removal of Nene for it to get its voice. And even then it was controlled and measured. And state-endorsed corruption continued unabated. Without a suitable voice the balance of the economy is left to fend for itself. In fact not only does large corporation South Africa kowtow – it actively breaks down small businesses by foisting on unreasonable demands on small and medium sized businesses to meet the so-called transformation targets thrust upon a pliant economy.

Perhaps this has now changed. British American Tobacco have threatened Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma with a law suit if she does not rescind her very arbitrary ban on the sale of tobacco products, describing it as bizarre and highly irregular, principally because she did not give the tobacco industry, retailers, tobacco consumers and others supporting the lifting of the ban, the opportunity to comment on the proposed reinstatement of the ban. This was grossly unfair and unlawful

That they are correct in their assessment is not brought into question. The minister, who looks like she'd be more comfortable crocheting clothing for her grandchildren than talking to a public that no does not respect her, told us that 2 000 individual submissions received as a reason for this action. This was 2000 out of the 70 000 submissions she received before she made her decision. Reminds me of bolshie bob who told us that there was overwhelming support for his BEE codes.

Of course the chief vibratorist, Jackson Mthembu has defended the decision, stating that Cyril agreed to this. In fact, the Sunday Times reported this morning that

Minister in the presidency Jackson Mthembu has ruled out any possibility of talks with the cigarette industry, saying the cabinet will not back down on its decision to ban the sale of cigarettes. The government is taking a hard line and will not refer the matter to mediation - an option introduced in the lockdown regulations to try to avoid costly court action by aggrieved parties. Mthembu said the tobacco issue was not one that could be resolved through mediation because there was nothing to negotiate. "We are not going to change our approach," he said. "There is no possibility of a midway agreement that accommodates them and us. We believe that it is the right thing to do. I don't see any of us agreeing on the measures the other party has taken.

"We will make our case in court. We believe we have very good reasons."

How could he say anything else? He's a politician, and an anc one as well. They never admit to any wrong. There does seem to be a bit of bravado here, perhaps he is anticipating that it will actually go to court. And the only way that this is going to go court is through the will to litigate by BAT. Perhaps the reader has seen the agenda here. Tito wants this to go to court, Cyril probably also wants it to go to court. If he is not aware that his popularity is plummeting on a minutely basis then he lives under a rock. A court decision absolves him of having to reign in the rogue incompetents in his cabinet. The court does it for him. This is an age old anc tactic. We'll make bad decisions and if they aren't attacked in the courts then they must be the right decisions.

This is a massive step by the private sector. They are loathe to litigate, always worried that they may lose government business or their licenses to operate. BAT have too much to lose (and so does the government - pity that hotfood slaptjips hasn't realised this) and they need to go through with this. At the time of this writing the anti-tobacco ban petition had 485k signatures to lift the ban. How does that measure up to the 2000 NDZ got in a week?

Meanwhile – the investigative press are going back to an article published in the Sunday Times in 2017 about NDZ's cosy relationship with people like Adriano Mazzotti. We know that illicit booze and cigarettes are doing a roaring trade in the country at the moment. Watch this space – there will be much more to come on this relationship.

It's up to you BAT – we have your back.

As a disclaimer – I don't smoke. I have never smoked. I do like a drink though, cigarettes have just never worked for me. I don't like governments behaving like the Nats did in the pe-1995 period.

April 23, 2020

I stopped listening to 702 because of YouseewhatadoosIam McHysbak. I don't think 702 misses me but I do wish they'd fire this idiot (I'm not using very fiery language on purpose). I was sent this article which contains an interview with our minister of tourism. At about 7:18 she talks about an application for exemption from BEE. I can't make out whether this is for an exemption in the application process or whether she is referring to an EME certificate as I discussed in the last post. It certainly does sound like she has no idea what she's talking about when it comes to BEE – if she is referring to EMEs, then it's not application – it's an affidavit.

In the Timeslive article she tells the disbelieving public that she is hamstrung by section 10 of the BEE Act

Over and above the moral imperative of transforming the economy, the department of tourism is compelled to apply sector codes as stated in section 10 of the B-BBEE Act: "[E]very organ of state … must apply any relevant code of good practice issued in terms of this act in … determining criteria for the awarding of incentives, grants and investment schemes in support of B-BBEE".

Let's check to see how this measures up against section 10, I've include the relevant subsections of section 10 below

10. Status of codes of good practice

(1) Every organ of state and public entity must apply any relevant code of good practice issued in terms of this Act in

(a) determining qualification criteria for the issuing of licences, concessions or other authorisations in respect of economic activity in terms of any law;

(b) developing and implementing a preferential procurement policy;

(c) determining qualification criteria for the sale of stateowned enterprises;

(d) developing criteria for entering into partnerships with the private sector; and

(e) determining criteria for the awarding of incentives, grants and investment schemes in support of broadbased black economic empowerment.

2(a) The Minister may, after consultation with the relevant organ of state or public entity, exempt the organ of state or public entity from a requirement contained in subsection (1) or allow a deviation therefrom if particular objectively verifiable facts or circumstances applicable to the organ of state or public entity necessitate an exemption or deviation.

(b) The Minister must publish the notice of exemption or deviation in the Gazette.

She's spot on in section 10 (1). It could be either (a) or (e). But what she's not doing is telling us about section 10(2). My reading of 10(2) is that the minister (being hotfood masala Ebie Patel) can exempt the tourism minister from section 10(1). The pandemic being a force majeure in the case of most businesses in the country must measure up as an "objectively verifiable facts or circumstances applicable to the organ of state or public entity". And for those that argue that this is not applicable to the tourism ministry, an organ of state is defined in section 239 of the Constitution as

"organ of state" means ­

a. any department of state or administration in the national, provincial or local sphere of government; or

b. any other functionary or institution ­

i. exercising a power or performing a function in terms of the Constitution or a provincial constitution; or

ii. exercising a public power or performing a public function in terms of any legislation, but does not include a court or a judicial officer;

Of course she counters the legitimate concerns about her selective reading of section 10 with

Evidently, the DA and its surrogates have decided to deliberately conflate non-compliance with the B-BBEE Act and exclusion on the basis of race. Perhaps the question we need to ask and give an honest answer to is, why is it that so many businesses are still failing to comply with B-BBEE?

That the DA, Afriforum and Solidarity have chosen to oppose the application of B-BBEE policy in the administration of the fund is hardly surprising, because these three organisations have, on many occasions, expressed their opposition to the B-BBEE policy and want it scrapped. However, what is unfortunate is that these organisations have chosen to use this crisis as a theatre for political posturing on such an important issue.

Then you have to ask, if she is so concerned with section 10 then why has she ignored paragraph 3.1.1 of STATEMENT 000: GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND THE GENERIC SCORECARD (DTI's generic scorecard) which says

3. APPLICATION OF THE CODES

3.1 The following Entities are measurable under the Codes:

3.1.1 all Organs of State and Public Entities;

She's a charlatan and has been caught out and she doesn't have a case. She has to resort to racist rhetoric – she's an ANC (uppercase as an exception, only because I like Cyril) politician. The minute you get caught out you accuse your accusers of being racist or anti-transformation. Hence the accusation will be thrown at me.

April 20, 2020

There's too much that's been made about this requirement that the new Covid-19 Tourism Relief Fund that the Department of Tourism has launched the to assist businesses in the tourism sector that have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

The R200 million Tourism Relief Fund provides once-off capped grant assistance to Small Micro and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMMEs) to ensure sustainability during and post the implementation of government measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 in South Africa, she said.

She added that the fund will be administered in line with the objectives of economic transformation and will be guided by the tourism Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) codes of good practices.

There's an outcry (justifiably) and support from the BBC (not a surprise - all they can is moan and not provide much else).

If you are in the tourism industry and turnover less than R5m, and it doesn't matter what level of black ownership you have, if you have any at all, - or at least turned over R5m in a financial year that ended less than 18 months ago then go to the dti's webpage and download this affidavit. Make sure that you write the word Tourism on it and ensure that you put in the turnover as being less than R5m. Take it to the police station to get oathed and DON'T FORGET TO SIGN IT.

This is YOUR BEE CERTIFICATE. Submit it with all the other documentation that they want. You will then be BEE compliance.

And you can laugh at the incompetence that is called a tourism minister who tries to hide her own racial prejudice behind the so-called anti-black bloc. If they would just wake up and realise that everyone is suffering

Simply put, these sections of society still hold the view that the participation of black people in the economy, especially as owners of the means of production, is a negation of entrepreneurship and growth. What might seem like a genuine concern for SMMEs in relation to Tourism Relief Fund from these sections of society is but an expression of opposition to the emergence of black business in the economy.

April 16, 2020

The major concern in my neighbourhood is booze and smokes. Chuck can get smokes but they are Zimbabwean, Brandon doesn't mind any smokes as long as they are toasted. Marlon can get Marlboros at twice the price, Nancy is interested. My biggest concern is my whiskey stash. As it turns out I over catered for three weeks – I am left a little lacking for the next two weeks. Brandon needs red wine and doesn't drink whiskey or whisky. Chuck doesn't drink whisky but is short of beer and white wine. I have a little red wine and have begged another five bottles of white wine from my mother, I have enough beer. Deals are struck and trades are made. I should have stocked up on smokes – they are a great currency at the moment, made even greater by the fact that I don't smoke. My new colleague Mark has sixteen bottles of whisky (I do prefer whiskey though) about 10km away from me – I am desperately trying to get him declared an essential service.

I knew when the lockdown began that the world had changed and will never be the same. I have a meeting three days a week on Zoom with my colleagues – this included Monday which was a public holiday. I am meeting people who work for the same group of companies as I do that I've never met before. Truth is I may never meet them formally but will have developed a relationship with them over the ether. In fact, I feel that we as a group of people have become a lot closer as we work together to steer our various businesses through this process. It has been a case of extreme reinvention and tireless work from a variety of educators, developers, marketers and part time copywriters (me). The advantage of Zoom meetings is they are shorter, to the point and you don't get a good enough chance to get up each others' noses.

It might be day 21 for me, but it's day 28 for my kids. They had three weeks of school before the holidays started in early April. The school had been very good about getting lessons onto Google Classrooms, there were Zoom classes. The only issue was the parental supervision. Both parents in this house are working, both are trying to keep businesses afloat.

My kids are on holiday and the other schools are now back and classes need to continue. The basic education department has launched lessons online. It's a laudable effort – coming from someone who firmly believes that this government is irreparably inept. It's more than laudable – it shows a proactivity that you just wouldn't expect from the government. It bodes well for the future. The problem I have right now is that it is very slow, and I am on fibre. Vodacom offers free lessons has a school, which they say is free for Vodacom customers.

But this post is not about that – it's about DigiCampus. This is post about one of the companies in the group of companies that I represent. Unlike other online teaching programmes – which is typically a push model, DigiCampus was developed by respected educators. It uses real teachers at the best schools to provide lessons in English, Afrikaans, isiZulu and isiXhosa (thus far). There is a portal where students/learners can keep their education programmes in a central place. It's a portal. You select your subjects and they are on your portal – you don't have to go and sift through videos that you may have watched before. And this is the start – they are looking at peer review models and other types of learner/teacher interaction. Already subscriptions are over 6000 – and the programme was launched on Tuesday (not many people didn't work over the Easter weekend). If you have kids at school at the moment and would like to know what it would be like to be taught by teachers from Grey College and Pridwin Prep and many others (you can see most of the others here) then you get a good feel by registering here and taking a look. I would be very interested to know what you think of the experience, we are all learning here. What we do know is that learning will never the same again.

April 08, 2020

This is not my work, I didn't write any of it. I took it from JZA's most recent newsletter. I did promise to update this blog when something interesting comes along. I couldn't write this any better myself.

COVID-19 Lockdown: Relief Programs for Businesses and SMMEs

The President, telling the nation that “We will prioritise the lives and livelihoods of our people above all else, and will use all of the measures that are within our power to protect them from the economic consequences of this pandemic”, has announced a variety of initiatives to assist SMMEs (Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises) that will need assistance in surviving the three week lockdown and economic disruptions flowing from the COVID-19 coronavirus. Please note these are new initiatives, so expect delays, changes to schemes, new proposals and differing interpretations. Everyone’s patience will be tested!

Some of the announced measures discussed below still need to be enacted and may be different when they are finalized. Expect ongoing changes and keep Googling for ongoing lists of proposed and implemented avenues of business relief.

1st: UIF Money

The UIF has an estimated surplus of R180 billion and this is the logical first port of call when looking at incentives, especially as money given by the UIF is not a loan, and thus doesn’t have to be repaid. There are two routes to access this money – using the traditional UIF method (National Disaster Benefit) or making use of the new Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) which is discussed below.

For either method, the employer must be registered with the UIF and be making monthly contributions. If you are behind on contributions, you can pay in any backlog you have.

National Disaster Benefit

Temporary shut down

If the employer temporarily shuts down the business, then the UIF will pay out R3 500 per employee per month for up to three months.

Requirements:

A letter from the employer confirming the operation is temporarily closing down due to the coronavirus

A copy of the employee’s ID

Forms to be Completed:

UI19 and UI12.7 (employer to complete)

UI2.1 - application form

UI2.8 – Confirmation of bank account

Reduced work time

The payout is the difference between what the employer pays and UIF benefits.

Forms to be Completed:

UI19 and UI2.7 (completed by Employer)

UI 2.1 (application)

UI 2.8 (bank form completed by the bank)

A letter from the Employer confirming Reduced Work Time is due to the coronavirus

Copy of ID document

Quarantine and illness

In cases where employees are put in isolation for 14 days or more.

Requirements:

Letters from the employer and employee that the person is in quarantine. No medical certificate is needed

If the quarantine is longer than 14 days, a certificate is required from the employee’s doctor, along with the form UI3

This applies to businesses who temporarily shut down – a three-month period is envisioned but this could be extended. The UIF then pays salaries to all staff, based on the current UIF pay outs – a maximum of R6 731 p.m. for staff earning R17 162 or more down to the minimum wage of R3 500.

There is quite a bit of documentation here – send an email to Covid19ters@labour.gov.za and you will get the forms to be completed and other requirements needed.

A Memorandum of Agreement is signed and the employer submits (in the required format) a spreadsheet of employee details and salary, proof of payment of the last 3 months’ salaries, bank confirmation of the applicable bank account.

You will need to open a separate bank account for this and prove each month that all staff have been paid.

There is quite a bit of work here and getting the forms accurate will prevent delays in payment.

Which of the two schemes to choose from depends on your business – there is some crossover, for example, quarantined employees can claim under the National Disaster Benefit (see Quarantine and Illness). On the face of it, TERS looks more lucrative but it is very admin intensive in setting up, and as a new scheme it may be subject to teething problems. Ask your accountant for advice in doubt.

2nd: The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD)

R500 million has been set aside to help SMMEs due to the impact of the coronavirus. The money will be in the form of loans at prime less 5%. Assistance falls into two categories:

Business Growth/ Resilience Facility: This applies to businesses whose products are aligned to helping to combat the pandemic. Examples are making hand sanitisers, medical protective clothing, medical supplies etc. SMME logistics companies may also apply for funding.

Debt Relief Fund: Companies will need to show how the coronavirus has impacted on their business. The relief focuses on purchase of stock and other operating needs. Funds will be released based on the company’s cash flow requirements.

The starting point is to register on the DSBD’s portal (www.smmesa.gov.za) – the registration entails staff breakdown between males and females, the number of youth employees and racial classification of staff. There is also a section on who owns the business and annual turnover. The business needs to be 100% South African owned and the work force is to be 70% local.

The DSBD is setting up an SMME database which will be used in future interventions.

Once registered follow the application process which opens on 2 April. How much each business gets is still unclear.

Call the DSBD’s hotline 0860 663 7867 or email info@dsbd.gov.za to check what kind of government support you qualify for.

3rd: Department of Trade and Industry

R3 billion assistance has been set aside with a main focus on providing funding to “vulnerable” businesses and to provide financing help to companies involved in the battle to roll back the coronavirus. It’s not that dissimilar to the DSBD’s approach but it serves all business, not just SMMEs. Of the R3 billion, R500 million will be for importing needed medical products and R700 million will be for financing equipment and working capital requirements. Guidelines as to how to apply are forthcoming.

4th: The Solidarity Fund

This has been set up with R150 million from the government (www.solidarityfund.co.za) and it is designed to help stop and detect the virus, look after the people with it, plus help those people who are vulnerable as a result of the coronavirus. Mary Oppenheimer has pledged R1 billion to this fund and Naspers has committed R500 million.

You may wish to donate to the fund or apply for help for struggling staff members.

5th: Private and Corporate Funds

The Rupert and Oppenheimer families and the Motsepe Foundation, have each pledged R1 billion. Motsepe’s money will go towards helping poor communities fight the coronavirus by supplying them with hand sanitisers etc. The Ruperts’ and Oppenheimers’ funds will be to help struggling small businesses and employees, as a result of the coronavirus. In addition, Naspers has pledged R1.5 billion (in addition to the R500 million to the Solidarity Fund) to source medical supplies and protective equipment, from China, for health care workers. .

The Rupert funds will be disbursed by Business Partners and application forms will soon be released – although details are not yet available, the money will be a loan.

The Oppenheimer money will be paid out from the “South Africa Future Trust” through the major four banks in the form of a five-year interest free loan – for details see SAFT’s website. SMMEs will apply to their bank which will then pay salaries directly into employees’ bank accounts. No liability will be incurred by employees – the business will be liable for repayment. Speak to your bank manager for how to apply – the system begins operating on 3 April.

Details on the Motsepe and Naspers disbursements are still outstanding.

6th: SARS Relief Measures

The Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) has been extended to include all staff earning less than R6 500 per month from ages 18 to 65 – they will qualify for an additional R500 per month which can be claimed via the monthly PAYE return. All staff members currently receiving ETI benefits will get an additional R500 per month. These measures will apply for four months from April to July this year. The ETI has been paying out twice a year but this will now be monthly.

Tax compliant companies with turnover of less than R50 million will be able to hold back 20% of their PAYE payments and a portion of their provisional tax payments, as follows:

The business must be tax compliant and using eFiling.

PAYE returns due May 7, June 7, July 7 and August 7, you only pay 80% of your PAYE liability

From September 7 and for the next five PAYE returns, the 20% reduction is to be paid back in equal amounts e.g. if you received a R30 000 reduction in PAYE for the months April to July, then you will repay an additional R5 000 each month on your PAYE return.

Provisional Tax payments due from April 1 to September 30:

The first payment at 15% of the estimated tax liability

The second payment at 65% of estimated tax liability (i.e. 50% is due on the second payment)

In your top up payment you will be required to pay your full tax liability

Note: the above applies to companies – measures for individuals will be announced later.

7th: Competition Act amendments re banks and retail tenants

The Competition Act has been amended to allow banks to work together to come up with solutions to help indebted companies and people. The major banks have announced cash flow relief measures – these will have to be repaid. Speak to your bank for more details and see a summary of bank-by-bank relief as announced to date here.

The Competition Act has also been relaxed to allow retail tenants to get together and present a unified negotiating position to landlords in the areas of evictions, rental discounts and rental “holidays”. This is already happening with “active” negotiation and demands between retail landlords and tenants.

8th: Tourism sector relief

A R200 million fund has been set up to help SMMEs in the tourism sector (Read “COVID-19 interventions for the tourism sector” here).

It applies to SMMEs with R2.5 Million or less. 70% of pay outs will be to Black owned Businesses with a bias towards rural areas.

9th: Other

The CIPC have extended the deadline for submission of the Annual Return, if you are required to submit during the lockdown process to April 30.

Government is considering suspending employers and employees UIF contributions and employer payments to the Skills Development Fund.

To date most businesses are reportedly finding that Business Interruption Insurance claims are not being considered by insurance companies.

Expect more initiatives to emerge as we move deeper into the coronavirus crisis. How much these measures will cushion the shock to the economy is unknown. They are, considering how little fiscal space there is, a creative and welcome attempt to help business and people affected by the lockdown and other restrictions. Nevertheless, the economy is virtually certain to enter a deep recession, particularly following the downgrade by Moody’s on March 27.

Remember we are facing desperate times and the nation, led by President Ramaphosa, has shown courage and determination in facing down the coronavirus.The bottom line for businesses – help is at hand if you need it!

41. The SETAs will support employers remotely and the date for the submission of Workplace Skills Plans (“WSPs”) will be extended to 31 May 2020, as also provided for by the Regulation.

42. The following must be noted with regard to training by SETA providers:

42.1 It is noted that the training will be severely affected, affecting learners, affecting learner stipends, and possible affecting SETA performance.

42.2 Compliance of SDPs to the national state of disaster and lockdown measures must be adhered to.

42.3 Communication must be maintained by the SDP, employer and the SETAs so that the effect of the national state of disaster can be quantified and known by the SETAs.

42.4 Stipends to learners during this time should be continued at full value. This however will have an effect on the duration of the contract as it may have to be extended, and the financial resources of the SETA to carry stipends to learners during this period. Other options of resourcing can be explored to assist the SETAs.

42.5 Workplace based learning programmes will also be suspended for the period of the national state of disaster, and hence any stipend and contracts will have to be extended resulting in a financial burden to the SETAs.

42.6 Bursary funding will continue, and operations relating to TVET colleges and Universities will be dictated by guidelines determined by the DHET.

42.7 Documentation relating to training/projects can still be sent and communicated to the SETAs through electronic means or the SETAs’ automated systems.

42.8 Trade testing has been suspended until further notice. Issuing of trade and other SETA certificates will be delayed due to the National state of disaster period, however where possible endeavours should be made not to delay.

42.9 WSPs can be submitted to SETAs as required, but a blanket approval to 31 May 2020 will be implemented to allow employers more time to submit WSP as SETAs will support employers remotely.

42.10 Research can be done remotely where possible, but again there will be some delays/postponements on some research.

March 26, 2020

Further to my post yesterday on the worst of times, Ray Mahlaka penned (and Tim Cohen – although the style seems to be more like Ray's) a discussion on this 51% requirement. I mentioned that there were people that are out there that have a political and narrow agenda when it comes to non-black-owned businesses (this doesn't specifically mean white).

Although the document has been rejected, it's worth noting that the actual application documents that continue to appear on the DSBD website require applicants to specify the race, nationality and gender of employees, and the race of all the shareholders individually. These are all required fields.

It is not clear what, if anything, these requirements might mean; questions to the department about how these stipulations will be applied have gone unanswered. The somewhat vague explanations from Ntshavheni in press interviews suggest applications will be considered on a "case by case basis", suggesting that BEE and local ownership criteria might still be applied, but more surreptitiously.

And then

The question, however, is whether, in the circumstances of a crisis like Covid-19, the government should be applying its transformation policy to what is essentially a national emergency. The fact is that a huge number of small businesses, perhaps even the majority of registered businesses, are minority-owned or foreign-owned, but have high proportions of black employees. If the government does intend to try to help small business employees, this may be the wrong time to attempt to throw in its transformational goals.

The authors are correct here. This is about an economy and jobs. The fucking hue of the owner is irrelevant. As I said yesterday, we could expect this under the last retard of a president. But not with this one.

Here is my offer to you the reader.

I cannot grease wheels (mostly because I hate the incumbent administrators and I think they hate me more). What I can do is advise you on emergency BEE issues – things like affidavits. I can explain the substance over legal form rule and how to apply it. You also need to know that you no longer need a commissioner of oaths for your affidavits. We can refer you to that document.

I'll post up some links that may help you in the interim

Keep an eye out on the Small Business Development Ministry's page for anything that talks about help for ailing businesses. You would think that right now they would actually have something on the lockdown on it. They don't. I'll keep an eye out. http://www.dsbd.gov.za/

There is the SolidarityFund. Again this website is a single static page with a bank account number. It's all about raising money at the moment. I'm sure that as we get deeper into the lockdown there will be more information posted on how you can apply for help https://www.solidarityfund.co.za/

I will answer your emails and help where I can. I cannot give you money, it won't be worthwhile asking for it. I'll help with advice if it is requested.

And maybe it would be nice for the Black Business Council to actually make a positive contribution to this crisis, whether it's cash or something – start a feeding scheme, (if they have they can let me know), instead of moaning about their lot all the time. Your lot is not much different to ours. The BBC's website says nothing about COVID – BUSA on the other hand…….